BUSINESS

The Chicago Cubs’ struggling infielder received a diagnosis from a World Series champion after leaving the Boston Red Sox.

Intel stock has had a wild run in 2026, up well over 200% during the first half of the year and trading near all-time highs. As the only U.S. company that both designs and manufactures leading-edge logic chips, Intel is well-positioned to continue reaping the benefits of the AI boom, and its prospects are further bolstered by a partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense and funding from the CHIPS Act. Many of Intel’s competitors, like Micron and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, reward investors by distributing some of their cash to shareholders as quarterly dividend payments (on top of the stock gains minted by increased chip demand). Here’s what you need to know about Intel’s dividend history, future prospects, and spending.Does Intel pay a dividend? Intel does not currently pay a dividend, although it used to. The company paused its dividend beginning with the fourth quarter of 2024, after a prolonged period of decline. As of mid-summer that year, the stock had fallen by around 55% over the previous five years. The company reduced its workforce by 15% around the same time. During an earnings call, former Intel CEO Pat Gelsingershared the news with investors and analysts, saying that the company was “taking the avid step of suspending the dividend at the beginning of the fourth quarter, recognizing the importance of prioritizing liquidity to support the investments needed to execute our strategy.”Nevertheless, he assured shareholders that this would only be a temporary move, giving the company more wiggle room to shore up its financial footing: “We reiterate our long-term commitment to a competitive dividend as cash flows improve to sustainably higher levels.”Intel’s free cash flow has been negative for the last 16 quarters, although it has improved significantly in recent years. When did Intel last pay a dividend?  Intel’s last dividend — $0.125 per share — was paid on September 1, 2024, to shareholders of record as of August 7. The company’s dividend used to be higher, at $0.365 per share, but it was reduced to the $0.125 level in May of 2023. Intel’s recent dividend historyEx-dividend datePayment dateAmount08/07/202409/01/2024$0.125 05/06/202406/01/2024$0.125 02/06/202403/01/2024$0.125 11/06/202312/01/2023$0.125 08/04/202309/01/2023$0.125 05/04/202306/01/2023$0.125 02/06/202303/01/2023$0.365 11/04/202212/01/2022$0.365 08/04/202209/01/2022$0.365 05/05/202206/01/2022$0.365 02/04/202103/01/2022$0.365 11/04/202112/01/2021$0.3475 08/05/202109/01/2021$0.3475 05/-6/202106/01/2021$0.3475 02/04/202103/01/2021$0.3475 Source: IntelWill Intel pay dividends again? When? Despite former CEO Pat Gelsinger’s 2024 assurance about the company’s “long-term commitment to a competitive dividend,” Intel shareholders may be left waiting for quite some time before this happens (although they’ve been handsomely rewarded in the form of massive gains in the company’s stock price).Despite the company’s success and ongoing turnaround under current CEO Lip-Bu Tan, Intel still has plenty to do with its cash before it considers handing it out to shareholders. Under Tan, the company is prioritizing engineering, which means spending plenty of cash on research and development.Beyond the company’s growth-focused spending, it has another reason to hold off on dividends — shoring up its balance sheet. The company currently owes more than $43 billion in long-term debt, and reducing that balance before reinstating dividends would be financially prudent. Back in summer 2025 (before the company’s stock began its massive upward run), the Motley Fool’s Timothy Green wrote that “it will likely be years before the company seriously considers restarting dividend payments to investors.” But while things may have changed for the better since then in terms of Intel’s stock price since then, the company’s capital expenditures remain high as it expands its foundry business, and it will take time for the company to reap the returns from these investments. Barchart’s Mohit Oberoi put it bluntly: “Intel Won’t Resume Dividends Anytime Soon.”Which semiconductor stocks do pay dividends in 2026? Company TickerQuarterly dividendNvidiaNVDA$0.25MicronMU$0.15TSMCTSM$0.96BroadcomAVGO$0.65Texas InstrumentsTXN$1.42QualcommQCOM$0.92

The popularity of the fried chicken dining sector is not enough to prevent restaurants from filing for bankruptcy protection and going out of business if negative economic factors prevail.The rising cost of doing business and unsustainable debt are often cited as the top reasons for restaurants’ financial distress, forcing them to close businesses.Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen franchisee Sailormen Inc., which operated 136 fried chicken locations when it filed for bankruptcy in January 2026, has rejected 22 leases of locations that it could not sell and will permanently close them.

Popeyes franchisee Sailormen Inc. divests of all of its restaurant locations.Shutterstock

Sailormen disposes of all locations Sailormen will divest all of its Popeyes businesses after selling 97 of its restaurants to five buyers and closing the remaining 39 locations that it could not sell.The debtor had won approval in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami to reject 18 restaurant leases, consisting of 15 locations in Florida and 3 in Georgia, on June 24.Judge Robert A. Mark approved an amended motion on June 27 to add four lease rejections, which amounted to 19 leases for properties in Florida and 3 leases for Georgia locations.Franchisee filed for bankruptcySailormen Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Jan. 15, 2026, submitted a motion in January in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida to reject 17 leases retroactively to Jan. 15 after closing eight locations on Jan. 19, five locations on Jan. 20, and four locations on Jan. 22, according to court papers.The debtor asserted that the leases should be rejected as of the petition date, since the restaurants were closed within one week of the petition date and before the hearing on the debtor’s first-day motions.The Miami, Fla.-based wholly owned subsidiary of Interfoods of America Inc. believed that closing the 17 unprofitable locations would reduce its expenses by over $1 million annually.Operator sells 97 locationsThe franchisee subsequently won Mark’s approval on June 23 to sell 97 of its restaurants for a total of $16.55 million, according to court papers.The restaurants included 50 Florida Popeyes locations sold to Pulse Restaurant Group LLC for $2.69 million, 23 Orlando-area restaurants to RFI Ventures LLC for $2.5 million, 16 Miami-area stores to Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc. for $9.6 million, 5 Savannah, Ga., locations to SBH Foods PLK LLC for $650,000, and 3 West Palm Beach, Fla.-area restaurants to 61 Biscuits LLC for $1.11 million, according to court orders.Sailormen filed for Chapter 11 protection after a failed sale of certain locations, a default on credit facilities, and a series of lawsuits and store closings caused the company financial distress.The franchisee, which was founded in 1987 with 10 locations, was one of the largest domestic Popeyes franchisees in the company’s system, with 136 locations in Florida and Georgia before it began closing locations. It employed about 2,900 workers before the closures.Fried Chicken most popular fast foodFried chicken dining chains were the most popular subsector of the fast-food industry in 2025, as traffic to chicken concepts increased by 3% for the year ending September 2025, while all concepts dropped 1% compared to the previous year, according to market research firm Circana.The popularity of fried chicken chains can be traced to the variety of chicken options offered at restaurants, such as chicken pieces, chicken fingers, or chicken sandwiches, and how consumers enjoy their choices, an expert says.“This is due to the experiences the brands are creating as well as the variety of chicken and how you can enjoy it,” industry expert Reilly Newman of Motif Brands told The Food Institute. “This comes to no surprise, as the experience economy has been taking root across the globe.Sailormen divested properties:92 Florida restaurants sold.5 Georgia restaurants sold.39 locations closed, leases rejected. Source: U.S. Bankruptcy CourtRelated: Giant troubled satellite TV company files Chapter 11 bankruptcy

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